These are the list of 7 top celebrities who are Hollywood stars but are Christians by profession.
Grace IN Christ alone saves alone
Friday, September 15, 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Jobs you can't do
Many Christians hold a decidedly unbiblical view of work. Some view it
as a curse, or at least as part of the curse of living in a fallen
world. Others make a false distinction between what they perceive as the
sacred—serving God—and the secular—everything else. And others make it
into an idol, expecting it to provide them with their identity and
purpose in life as well as being a source of joy and fulfillment that
only God can provide.
Sometimes we may not realize that Christians can also work outside the walls of the church or the Christian name, we tend to limit ourselves to the “helping” professions. Christians can be doctors, nurses, teachers, child care workers, social workers, law enforcement officers, or counselors. But however a businessman? A lawyer? An IT guru? An inventor? A builder? A fashion designer? A news anchor? A TV producer?
A faulty view of work comes from believing that spiritual, sacred things are far more important than physical, secular things. Real work, people can think, is serving God in full-time Christian service, and then there’s everything else running a very poor second. This can induce us to think either too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves. We can think, “Real work is serving God, and then there’s what others do” (which sets us up for condescension), or “Real work is serving God, and then there’s what I have to do” (which sets us up for false guilt and a sense of “missing it”).
It’s an improper way to view life as divided between the sacred and the secular. ALL of life relates to God and is sacred, whether we’re making a business presentation or changing soiled diapers or leading someone to faith in Christ. It’s unwise to think there are sacred things we do and there are secular things we do. It all depends on what’s going on in our hearts.
You can engage in what looks like holy activity like prayer and Bible study with a dark, self-centered, unforgiving spirit. Remember the Pharisees? And on the other hand, you can work at a job in a very secular atmosphere where the conversation is littered with profanity, the work is slipshod, the politics are wearisome, and yet like Daniel or Joseph in the Old Testament you can keep your own conversation pure and your behavior above reproach. You can bring honor and glory to God in a very worldly environment. God does not want us to do holy things, He wants us to be holy people.
We tend not to list these jobs among the most desirable work for Christians. There is nothing biblical about such a limiting stance however we should be careful about going into jobs such as modelling and military for their inherent nature as some others that have some intricacies that are somewhat demanding.
Christians can consider almost any career. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. . . . Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bond-servant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) . . . So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God" (1 Corinthians 7:17, 20-21, 24). Believers should not leave their current work and become missionaries or pastors. He tells them to remain where they are and serve God there.
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). It is not so much what we are doing that matters, as for whom we are doing it.
We glorify God when we work hard and cheerfully, whether as a pastor, an investor, an actor, a stay-at-home mother, or a barista.
Career should however not become the number one priority in your life where our relationship with God takes a back seat, family takes a back seat, even your relationship with other people takes a back seat to work. Everything gets filtered through the question, “What impact will this have on my christian walk and life?”
Sometimes we may not realize that Christians can also work outside the walls of the church or the Christian name, we tend to limit ourselves to the “helping” professions. Christians can be doctors, nurses, teachers, child care workers, social workers, law enforcement officers, or counselors. But however a businessman? A lawyer? An IT guru? An inventor? A builder? A fashion designer? A news anchor? A TV producer?
A faulty view of work comes from believing that spiritual, sacred things are far more important than physical, secular things. Real work, people can think, is serving God in full-time Christian service, and then there’s everything else running a very poor second. This can induce us to think either too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves. We can think, “Real work is serving God, and then there’s what others do” (which sets us up for condescension), or “Real work is serving God, and then there’s what I have to do” (which sets us up for false guilt and a sense of “missing it”).
It’s an improper way to view life as divided between the sacred and the secular. ALL of life relates to God and is sacred, whether we’re making a business presentation or changing soiled diapers or leading someone to faith in Christ. It’s unwise to think there are sacred things we do and there are secular things we do. It all depends on what’s going on in our hearts.
You can engage in what looks like holy activity like prayer and Bible study with a dark, self-centered, unforgiving spirit. Remember the Pharisees? And on the other hand, you can work at a job in a very secular atmosphere where the conversation is littered with profanity, the work is slipshod, the politics are wearisome, and yet like Daniel or Joseph in the Old Testament you can keep your own conversation pure and your behavior above reproach. You can bring honor and glory to God in a very worldly environment. God does not want us to do holy things, He wants us to be holy people.
We tend not to list these jobs among the most desirable work for Christians. There is nothing biblical about such a limiting stance however we should be careful about going into jobs such as modelling and military for their inherent nature as some others that have some intricacies that are somewhat demanding.
Christians can consider almost any career. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. . . . Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bond-servant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) . . . So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God" (1 Corinthians 7:17, 20-21, 24). Believers should not leave their current work and become missionaries or pastors. He tells them to remain where they are and serve God there.
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). It is not so much what we are doing that matters, as for whom we are doing it.
We glorify God when we work hard and cheerfully, whether as a pastor, an investor, an actor, a stay-at-home mother, or a barista.
Career should however not become the number one priority in your life where our relationship with God takes a back seat, family takes a back seat, even your relationship with other people takes a back seat to work. Everything gets filtered through the question, “What impact will this have on my christian walk and life?”
Friday, September 8, 2017
Walking in love
The pain of conviction that comes through the godly rebuke of a friend who speaks truth in love is a real gift (Proverbs 27:6). But what if you’re the one sinned against, and you’re hurt because of unkind words, betrayal, or manipulation by a person you consider a friend? How do you address it with your friend, and how do you move past the pain and toward reconciliation
In the midst of your hurt, trust that God is working in your relationship to grow you both in the grace and knowledge of Christ: “Trust in him at all times, O people” (Psalm 62:8).
It is one’s glory (or beauty) to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11). This requires prudence, patience, maturity, and wisdom. Overlooking an offense adorns the gospel and is a loving response that demonstrates we are indeed Christ’s disciples (John 13:35).
In the Disney film Frozen, Elsa abandoned caution and prudence, giving up her good-girl persona to unleash her cold fury on the town of Arendelle. Her actions negatively affected everyone and everything around her. In our flesh, we’re tempted to unleash our pent-up, frozen fury on our friend rather than trust our Lord. Wisdom does not “let it go” like an ice queen. Instead, it dies to self, showing constraint and turning the hurt over to Jesus, who most identifies with us in our pain and who meets us in our times of need.
You would only walk in love to the extent to which you live the life of the scriptures you have come to appreciate in Christ in Jesus.
Take for instance if you have not been overwhelmed with scriptures so as to know that Christ did it all to the extent of dying for us on the cross of calvary you may not appreciate the extent to which we should forgive.Christ says we should forgive others just exactly as he did for us. You can never know the extent to which you would go to forgive some wrongs against you unless you appreciate through the lens of scripture the extent to which Jesus did.
It's a matter of choice, choose to forgive your offender and you would not just heal a broken heart but this would have ripple effect on other people's lives. Do not event try to harbor grudge in your heart because it would lead to greater sins and would amount to your health deteriorating.
Comfort in tribulations
Are you a Christian but you face cerrtain challenges that seem insurmountable nad heart breaking to you you are not the only one in this game of affliction for looking at the life of a number of Christians even in scriptures you would find the same things.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.…2 Corrinthians 1:4
Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7. He calls it “a messenger of Satan” that had a purpose of “torment.” Many explanations have been put forward, but whether Paul is referring to a physical, spiritual, or emotional affliction—or something else entirely—has never been answered with satisfaction. Since he was not talking of a literal thorn, he must have been speaking metaphorically. Some of the more popular theories of the thorn’s interpretation include temptation, a chronic eye problem, malaria, migraines, epilepsy, and a speech disability. Some even say that the thorn refers to a person, such as Alexander the coppersmith, who did Paul “a great deal of harm” (2 Timothy 4:14). No one can say for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, but it was a source of real pain in the apostle’s life.
Paul clues us in concerning the thorn’s purpose: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations.” So, God’s goal in allowing the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was commissioned personally by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.” Add to that the fact that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become “haughty” (KJV) or “exalted above measure” (NKJV) or “too proud” (NCV).
Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job (Job 1:1-12), God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.
No one likes to live in pain. Paul sought the Lord three times to remove this source of pain from him (2 Corinthians 12:8). He probably had many good reasons why he should be pain-free: he could have a more effective ministry; he could reach more people with the gospel; he could glorify God even more! But the Lord was more concerned with building Paul’s character and preventing pride. Instead of removing the problem, whatever it was, God gave Paul more overwhelming grace and more compensating strength. We aul learned that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness”
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.…2 Corrinthians 1:4
Paul speaks of a “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians 12:7. He calls it “a messenger of Satan” that had a purpose of “torment.” Many explanations have been put forward, but whether Paul is referring to a physical, spiritual, or emotional affliction—or something else entirely—has never been answered with satisfaction. Since he was not talking of a literal thorn, he must have been speaking metaphorically. Some of the more popular theories of the thorn’s interpretation include temptation, a chronic eye problem, malaria, migraines, epilepsy, and a speech disability. Some even say that the thorn refers to a person, such as Alexander the coppersmith, who did Paul “a great deal of harm” (2 Timothy 4:14). No one can say for sure what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, but it was a source of real pain in the apostle’s life.
Paul clues us in concerning the thorn’s purpose: “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations.” So, God’s goal in allowing the thorn in the flesh was to keep Paul humble. Anyone who had encountered Jesus and was commissioned personally by Him (Acts 9:2-8) would, in his natural state, become “puffed up.” Add to that the fact that Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write much of the New Testament, and it is easy to see how Paul could become “haughty” (KJV) or “exalted above measure” (NKJV) or “too proud” (NCV).
Paul also says that the affliction came from or by a “messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to torment Job (Job 1:1-12), God allowed Satan to torment Paul for God’s own good purpose.
No one likes to live in pain. Paul sought the Lord three times to remove this source of pain from him (2 Corinthians 12:8). He probably had many good reasons why he should be pain-free: he could have a more effective ministry; he could reach more people with the gospel; he could glorify God even more! But the Lord was more concerned with building Paul’s character and preventing pride. Instead of removing the problem, whatever it was, God gave Paul more overwhelming grace and more compensating strength. We aul learned that God’s “power is made perfect in weakness”
The mind of Christ.
How do you see into your mind to establish this point. It is a consciousness of your spirit that exists.
Dominant in your mind are works that have been your predominant activities sometimes which are influenced by whatsoever you listen to everyday of your life. It is a predominant thought of the mind that forms part of our memory and sometimes involuntary activities.
It is often said that, ''the garbage you input is the garbage you would get as your output''. No matter how I wish to over flog this concept, it seem to rapidly leave the mind as we proceed with our daily lives and our activities override this thought that someday we would reap what we have sown into our minds as thoughts. ''Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life''.(Romans 6: 8)
A lot of people who want to make a mark in their chosen careers for instance and do not want to be tagged a mediocre in whatsoever activity they want to do, to the least activity like making tea.Hard as we want to get the results we only seem fall short of this because our inputs are wrong. We want it so badly we can't leave that penny to invest into getting better results.
Come to think of it, our daily lives cannot be said to amount to any thing short of what we have invested. It can only be superfluously abundant life we would reap when you invest into spiritual things; like coming to terms with what you have come to know through the scriptures.
What could be the wisdom of this world as compared to God's?
Don't in your wildest dreams afford to play away your eternity on the platform of man made entities like silver and gold which have not profited those that have been occupied therewith.(1Peter 1:18)
It is often said that, ''the garbage you input is the garbage you would get as your output''. No matter how I wish to over flog this concept, it seem to rapidly leave the mind as we proceed with our daily lives and our activities override this thought that someday we would reap what we have sown into our minds as thoughts. ''Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life''.(Romans 6: 8)
A lot of people who want to make a mark in their chosen careers for instance and do not want to be tagged a mediocre in whatsoever activity they want to do, to the least activity like making tea.Hard as we want to get the results we only seem fall short of this because our inputs are wrong. We want it so badly we can't leave that penny to invest into getting better results.
Come to think of it, our daily lives cannot be said to amount to any thing short of what we have invested. It can only be superfluously abundant life we would reap when you invest into spiritual things; like coming to terms with what you have come to know through the scriptures.
What could be the wisdom of this world as compared to God's?
Don't in your wildest dreams afford to play away your eternity on the platform of man made entities like silver and gold which have not profited those that have been occupied therewith.(1Peter 1:18)
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
law of Karma and the christian walk
"..According as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue:...''
If he has done everything, then what have we been called into?
Life from the dead is what we have been called into, not life into more life.
It can be said that we have an abundant life that the world can not assure us in itself.
Much more than the life we live have we been called into a life that is beyond this world.
Imagine that you are the president of the world and that everything in the world is under your control. That's exactly what it is, you've got more than this status, of the son of God in its detail don't you ever forget that.
Invest in the life that would benefit you because this world would last longet than your life.
What you sow is what you will reap in life on the long run. So sow in the life that would outlive this world and beyond .
Nothing is worth your life; time and effort like the gospel of the lord Jesus.
You can't be owed by God or can you be owed?
It's a matter of time before you would know that your life investment in other things are not worth the stress.
He would never leave me nor forsake me in the times when I need him the most because he abides to save (me) to the uttermost and those that come to Him by faith.
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